Power button

[Beckdroid]

My power button just fell off. Have to use a capri sun straw to turn it on and to wake it up. Booooooo Motorola!

 

[johnlgalt]

Boo Motorola???

If half of all BIONIC users experience the same thing as you, then boo Motorola. Until then, boo you.

I cannot believe you're going to claim this is a design issue....

I use my power button every day to unlock the screen, end phone calls, and lock the screen, sometimes as much as 50 times a day - and mine hasn't fallen off.

Honestly, I'm sick and tired of people blaming the company b/c something happens to them.

 

[moondrius]

My first Bionic had a really messed up power button and my current one has one that is kind of caved in. I doubt this guy did something to the phone that caused the power button to come off.

 

[johnlgalt]

Are you guys pocket users or shell / holster / case users?

My DROID's power button has lost all gold paint but is fully functional. After 2 years, I can's see how my use can be different than anyone else's, but that has to be the case - design flaws are across the board - my phone is not designed any differently than yours.

 

[New Rising]

He can at least find something more suitable than a capri sun straw to turn it on and off. I think that's something we can all agree on.

 

[moondrius]

My Bionic was messed up out of the box. I keep mine in my pocket with no case.

 

[johnlgalt]

Hmmm. Being messed up OOB goes back to my rant in another thread - Shipping companies do not handle items well, even if you label them fragile.

I've seen how packages are handled at both UPS and FedEx. Un real.

 

[riccrouch]

My power button just fell off. Have to use a capri sun straw to turn it on and to wake it up.

Ditto. Called Motorola to get a replacement, but was told "that's not a standard accessory" and so they wouldn't send it. I was told to go back to where I bought my phone (BestBuy) or an "authorized repair center". I hope to get a new switch from BestBuy and pop it back on myself.

Yes, I have a case. Not exactly sure WHEN or HOW the switch fell off--some point between when I picked up the phone getting out of my car (when I turned it off after being charged in the car) and a block later (when I next tried to turn my phone on).

Overall, I love the phone. It's had some...hiccups... but it's still far better than my original MotoDroid.

 

[Beckdroid]

Boo Motorola???

If half of all BIONIC users experience the same thing as you, then boo Motorola. Until then, boo you.

I cannot believe you're going to claim this is a design issue....

I use my power button every day to unlock the screen, end phone calls, and lock the screen, sometimes as much as 50 times a day - and mine hasn't fallen off.

Honestly, I'm sick and tired of people blaming the company b/c something happens to them.

Seriously? You read way too much into my post. Didn't claim jack shit. Just said my power button fell off. Which it literally did just that and yeah boooo Motorola. Sorry maybe I should've said "Booooo MY Motorola Bionic."? Is that better for ya? I'm not demanding a recall, or asking everyone to send a nasty tweet, or whatever else you can dream up although I do think it's pretty crappy after only 3 weeks of ownership.

My phone usage is normal. I can root and all that jazz but haven't yet. I hate cases and prefer not to use them.

The damn button just popped out. The reason for the Capri Sun Straw is because that is what was convienent at the time. I happened to be at my 7 year old daughter's bday party outside at a park. There happened to be plenty of capri sun straws on hand and the pointed part fit perfectly to poke the tiny button. It was important to me to get some pictures of my daughter's evening. (I don't use the stock camera) Whoever recommended the FX Camera thank you!

I have since graduated to a little wire thing my husband (yeah I'm a girl) bent into a key looking thing with a point. It's a pain in the arse but I can't decide if I want a Certified Like New or just a new button to pop on. I'm kinda happy with my phone and I have it pretty close to just the way I want it.

Thanks for your kind words and assumptions johnlgalt!!!!!!!

 

[Beckdroid]

He can at least find something more suitable than a capri sun straw to turn it on and off. I think that's something we can all agree on.

I have. Thanks.

 

[bxtzd3]

Boo Motorola???

If half of all BIONIC users experience the same thing as you, then boo Motorola. Until then, boo you.

I cannot believe you're going to claim this is a design issue....

I use my power button every day to unlock the screen, end phone calls, and lock the screen, sometimes as much as 50 times a day - and mine hasn't fallen off.

Honestly, I'm sick and tired of people blaming the company b/c something happens to them.

one of my 5 replacements had a unusable power button out of the box. they are supposed to test these phones with the use in mind. if the button's purpose is to turn on and off the device, silence a call or whatever else, it should be able to do that 50-100 or 1000 times a day without issue. so in my case, boooo motorola. i have had issues and i am aloud to say i deserve better. so beckdroid complain all you want. i will stop when i get a working device! dont mean to rant but all the posts telling people not to complain is just nonsense. we didnt buy these phones on ebay, well i didnt, and for $300 i would hope for a better build. my opinion.

oh and this is coming from someone who's life depended on a working motorola product, and always had one. they should have built them like the radios their known for.

 

[moondrius]

one of my 5 replacements had a unusable power button out of the box. they are supposed to test these phones with the use in mind. if the button's purpose is to turn on and off the device, silence a call or whatever else, it should be able to do that 50-100 or 1000 times a day without issue. so in my case, boooo motorola. i have had issues and i am aloud to say i deserve better. so beckdroid complain all you want. i will stop when i get a working device! dont mean to rant but all the posts telling people not to complain is just nonsense. we didnt buy these phones on ebay, well i didnt, and for $300 i would hope for a better build. my opinion.

Sadly, the certified like new program at Verizon is a complete failure. I am sure there are a few working devices that make its way to the consumer as I have gotten a couple. It only took 10 or so replacements to get to that though. They say phones go through a 100 point test and its just not true. We would not be getting phones with scratched screens and broken buttons if that were true.

 

[bxtzd3]

Sadly, the certified like new program at Verizon is a complete failure. I am sure there are a few working devices that make its way to the consumer as I have gotten a couple. It only took 10 or so replacements to get to that though. They say phones go through a 100 point test and its just not true. We would not be getting phones with scratched screens and broken buttons if that were true.

out of the 5 i had the original, 1 new in box, 1 clnr, one with no clnr date sticker, and the one coming tomorrow. hope for the best.

 

[Beckdroid]

The manager at the Verizon store told me that the CLN phones are brand new on the outside and just rhe internal stuff is used. I can't make up my mind on what to do.

 

[moondrius]

The manager at the Verizon store told me that the CLN phones are brand new on the outside and just rhe internal stuff is used. I can't make up my mind on what to do.

He lied to you. I have gotten some really messed up phones.

 

[New Rising]

I have. Thanks.

Sorry, I meant no offense i was just kidding. Also, sorry on calling you a guy, i guess the BECKdroid maybe should have given that away heh. I was just going off by your avatar i guess.

 

[johnlgalt]

Seriously? You read way too much into my post. Didn't claim jack shit. Just said my power button fell off. Which it literally did just that and yeah boooo Motorola. Sorry maybe I should've said "Booooo MY Motorola Bionic."? Is that better for ya? I'm not demanding a recall, or asking everyone to send a nasty tweet, or whatever else you can dream up although I do think it's pretty crappy after only 3 weeks of ownership.

My phone usage is normal. I can root and all that jazz but haven't yet. I hate cases and prefer not to use them.

The damn button just popped out. The reason for the Capri Sun Straw is because that is what was convienent at the time. I happened to be at my 7 year old daughter's bday party outside at a park. There happened to be plenty of capri sun straws on hand and the pointed part fit perfectly to poke the tiny button. It was important to me to get some pictures of my daughter's evening. (I don't use the stock camera) Whoever recommended the FX Camera thank you!

I have since graduated to a little wire thing my husband (yeah I'm a girl) bent into a key looking thing with a point. It's a pain in the arse but I can't decide if I want a Certified Like New or just a new button to pop on. I'm kinda happy with my phone and I have it pretty close to just the way I want it.

Thanks for your kind words and assumptions johnlgalt!!!!!!!

You're right, I did read way too much into your post - after having read 4 different threads here and literally 10s of threads at the Motorola User Forums about how the Bionic sucks, how Motorola should allow BIONIC users to upgrade to the RAZR for free, etc. For more, see https://supportforums.motorola.com/community/google-android/droid_bionic?view=discussions&start=0 (You may need to register to see the actual posts). In fact, I do recommend that you register and make a post over there as well.

You didn't need to get so vehement with me, but I'll accept the blame here - I shouldn't have assumed you were dissing Motorola.

As for all the comments regarding testing quality - I'll repeat what I said - they can test all the quality they want, but as soon as it is out the door they have lost all control of the device. You have the shippers and the retailers handling them as well, and I don't care how new the retailer claims it is, I've personally seen VZW employees opening a box, playing with a device, and then re-sealing the box.

 

[Vehtemas]

You're right, I did read way too much into your post - after having read 4 different threads here and literally 10s of threads at the Motorola User Forums about how the Bionic sucks, how Motorola should allow BIONIC users to upgrade to the RAZR for free, etc. For more, see https://supportforums.motorola.com/...oid/droid_bionic?view=discussions&start=0 (You may need to register to see the actual posts). In fact, I do recommend that you register and make a post over there as well.

You didn't need to get so vehement with me, but I'll accept the blame here - I shouldn't have assumed you were dissing Motorola.

As for all the comments regarding testing quality - I'll repeat what I said - they can test all the quality they want, but as soon as it is out the door they have lost all control of the device. You have the shippers and the retailers handling them as well, and I don't care how new the retailer claims it is, I've personally seen VZW employees opening a box, playing with a device, and then re-sealing the box.

I don't know about most of you guys but I will not upgrade to the Razr, it is an inferior phone in my opinion and not something I would own.

 

[bxtzd3]

As for all the comments regarding testing quality - I'll repeat what I said - they can test all the quality they want, but as soon as it is out the door they have lost all control of the device. You have the shippers and the retailers handling them as well, and I don't care how new the retailer claims it is, I've personally seen VZW employees opening a box, playing with a device, and then re-sealing the box.

so i should blame fed ex for
1-blown ear piece
2-randomly shutting down through out the day, moto said this was hardware not software as per online chat.
3-dropping 3g and having to do a bat pull to get it back.
4-unusable power button oob.
5-mechanical click when shutting down camera

sounds a little silly to think fed ex is the reason. i am in the auto industry now. when a car gets shipped things happen, dings, paint chips, that's the haulers issue. the motor not running right that's the manufacturer.same thing here. no aggression just frustration. and yes i have contacted moto.

 

[Thom]

I don't know about most of you guys but I will not upgrade to the Razr, it is an inferior phone in my opinion and not something I would own.

I think what you mwanted to say was that you would not side-grade to a Razr?

... Thom

 

[Vehtemas]

I think what you mwanted to say was that you would not side-grade to a Razr?

... Thom

Actually downgrade...

 

[johnlgalt]

so i should blame fed ex for
1-blown ear piece
2-randomly shutting down through out the day, moto said this was hardware not software as per online chat.
3-dropping 3g and having to do a bat pull to get it back.
4-unusable power button oob.
5-mechanical click when shutting down camera

sounds a little silly to think fed ex is the reason. i am in the auto industry now. when a car gets shipped things happen, dings, paint chips, that's the haulers issue. the motor not running right that's the manufacturer.same thing here. no aggression just frustration. and yes i have contacted moto.

Blown earpiece - that could happen if a carrier employee took it out of the box and 'tested' the volume, too - not necessarily a FedEx problem.

Randomly shutting down - if Motorola says it is a hardware problem, then it might be. I think otherwise - does it randomly shut down at completely stock, as in you log in to your Google account and install 0 apps?

Dropping 3G - shown to be at least partially related to software on the phone. Many people have reported much fewer drops, to even a full cessation of drops, by just installing the leaked 5.7.893 update. Conversely, others (seemingly in the minority, but no one has started a poll yet, which I'll do now, but those are only as accurate as the respondees are) report that it has gotten worse.

Unusable power button OOB - as the OP mentions, this broke on her without any hassling at all - and after a well justified tongue lashing of me, to my chagrin, she said that it was not abused. By her. if the build on the plastic button is indeed weak, a lot more people should have problems. Given the normal variations in mass production, I can't say this is Motorola's fault - but I can say that it it is already weak to begin with, jostling around by shipping companies and carrier employees certainly is not going to help the situation at all.

Mechanical click when shutting down the camera - I've heard of users complaining about this only after the 5.7.893 update. I too have it - I live with it - that is obviously a software issue as it was not doing it before the update for me. And, since this is a leaked update, I have to live with it - b/c this is not an update that was pushed out by Motorola as a live update, it is, for all intents and purposes, a beta.

Now, then, being in the car industry, you'll know that you can take 5 of the exact same models with the same options, and you'll have variation in all 5 vehicles. Some get slightly better gas mileage, some seem to have a smoother ride, some seem to have better grip and handling, one turns out to be a pure lemon - does that mean it is the manufacturer's fault that this occurred? In the subjective mind of ht consumer that bought that particula vehicle it is, but is it really?

Was that one lemon built differently from the others? Was the one getting slightly better gas mileage designed to get the slightly better gas mileage in that one car only? Does the one that is handling better doing so b/c it was the 5th car on the line that day, and only the 5th car in every day's line up will get good handling, the rest get average handling?

To put it further out there, the BIONIC was already torn down and apart by the folks at iFixIt. Here is a pic of the main motherboard:

As you can see, there are a variety of 'chips' there from different manufacturers - SanDisk, Elpida, Qualcomm, Motorola, to name just a few (that I can read). All of these components are mass produced individually, each in its own right, and, just like those cars I mentioned earlier, some of these are going to be good, a small percentage flaky. With that many components, can you really say that it is Motorola's fault that this or that happens?

If so, then why is it not happening across the board? The 3G outages are pretty constant - I know of very few who have not had at least a couple - even I have in the early days. Power button? very very few. Speaker problems - more than power button, but way less than 3G. Faulty screens, dead (or partially dead) screens, dead pixels, etc.bad headphone jacks, I've heard them all (and then some) - the only problems that seems to be universal thus far is the 3G drops, Black screens and noise (and the noise is iffy too).

So, getting back to it all - with the propensity for mass produced products to have some (usually slight) failure rate, it's not surprising that some people get lemons and others don't. However, no matter how good the testing procedure is before the phone leaves the front doors, once it is out, as I mentioned, it is then in the hands of the shippers and carriers.

However, there is middle ground here - Motorola needs to step up to the plate and offer replacements for customers on the spot instead of making you send it in for an evaluation and being without a phone for 5-7 business days.

I like the fact that mine has exhibited very very few problems to date. I hate the fact that so many other people are experiencing so many issues with what is, in my book, a really damned good phone.

 

[bxtzd3]

Blown earpiece - that could happen if a carrier employee took it out of the box and 'tested' the volume, too - not necessarily a FedEx problem.

Randomly shutting down - if Motorola says it is a hardware problem, then it might be. I think otherwise - does it randomly shut down at completely stock, as in you log in to your Google account and install 0 apps?

Dropping 3G - shown to be at least partially related to software on the phone. Many people have reported much fewer drops, to even a full cessation of drops, by just installing the leaked 5.7.893 update. Conversely, others (seemingly in the minority, but no one has started a poll yet, which I'll do now, but those are only as accurate as the respondees are) report that it has gotten worse.

Unusable power button OOB - as the OP mentions, this broke on her without any hassling at all - and after a well justified tongue lashing of me, to my chagrin, she said that it was not abused. By her. if the build on the plastic button is indeed weak, a lot more people should have problems. Given the normal variations in mass production, I can't say this is Motorola's fault - but I can say that it it is already weak to begin with, jostling around by shipping companies and carrier employees certainly is not going to help the situation at all.

Mechanical click when shutting down the camera - I've heard of users complaining about this only after the 5.7.893 update. I too have it - I live with it - that is obviously a software issue as it was not doing it before the update for me. And, since this is a leaked update, I have to live with it - b/c this is not an update that was pushed out by Motorola as a live update, it is, for all intents and purposes, a beta.

Now, then, being in the car industry, you'll know that you can take 5 of the exact same models with the same options, and you'll have variation in all 5 vehicles. Some get slightly better gas mileage, some seem to have a smoother ride, some seem to have better grip and handling, one turns out to be a pure lemon - does that mean it is the manufacturer's fault that this occurred? In the subjective mind of ht consumer that bought that particula vehicle it is, but is it really?

Was that one lemon built differently from the others? Was the one getting slightly better gas mileage designed to get the slightly better gas mileage in that one car only? Does the one that is handling better doing so b/c it was the 5th car on the line that day, and only the 5th car in every day's line up will get good handling, the rest get average handling?

To put it further out there, the BIONIC was already torn down and apart by the folks at iFixIt. Here is a pic of the main motherboard:

As you can see, there are a variety of 'chips' there from different manufacturers - SanDisk, Elpida, Qualcomm, Motorola, to name just a few (that I can read). All of these components are mass produced individually, each in its own right, and, just like those cars I mentioned earlier, some of these are going to be good, a small percentage flaky. With that many components, can you really say that it is Motorola's fault that this or that happens?

If so, then why is it not happening across the board? The 3G outages are pretty constant - I know of very few who have not had at least a couple - even I have in the early days. Power button? very very few. Speaker problems - more than power button, but way less than 3G. Faulty screens, dead (or partially dead) screens, dead pixels, etc.bad headphone jacks, I've heard them all (and then some) - the only problems that seems to be universal thus far is the 3G drops, Black screens and noise (and the noise is iffy too).

So, getting back to it all - with the propensity for mass produced products to have some (usually slight) failure rate, it's not surprising that some people get lemons and others don't. However, no matter how good the testing procedure is before the phone leaves the front doors, once it is out, as I mentioned, it is then in the hands of the shippers and carriers.

However, there is middle ground here - Motorola needs to step up to the plate and offer replacements for customers on the spot instead of making you send it in for an evaluation and being without a phone for 5-7 business days.

I like the fact that mine has exhibited very very few problems to date. I hate the fact that so many other people are experiencing so many issues with what is, in my book, a really damned good phone.

to put an end to this, because we are both highly opinionated, the bottom line is after 4 -5 devices i point my frustration at the name on the phone. i have been in contact with verizon and moto. i really wont speculate that a employee anywhere opened my phone to test it . the wrapper on the battery was in-tacked, no finger prints. the rest, what can i say.

 

[Thom]

to put an end to this, because we are both highly opinionated, the bottom line is after 4 -5 devices i point my frustration at the name on the phone. i have been in contact with verizon and moto. i really wont speculate that a employee anywhere opened my phone to test it . the wrapper on the battery was in-tacked, no finger prints. the rest, what can i say.

After 5 devices ... what I would say is ... Ouch.

... Thom

 

[johnlgalt]

to put an end to this, because we are both highly opinionated, the bottom line is after 4 -5 devices i point my frustration at the name on the phone. i have been in contact with verizon and moto. i really wont speculate that a employee anywhere opened my phone to test it . the wrapper on the battery was in-tacked, no finger prints. the rest, what can i say.

My advice to you is get your money back - you have more than sufficient reason to do so - if you've already gone through 4 devices in less than 2.5 months it's time to make Motorola put their money where their mouth is. And make VZW also reinstate your upgrade - so you can then really make me jealous with the Galaxy Nexus

I will also say this - I'm being very adamant about what I say, but in retrospect, I went over the line - Neither one of us can say for certain it is one thing or another - but I never mention anything about probability or degrees of probability, an for that, I'm sorry. There is no definite, other than the fact that you've gone through 4 devices and are still having problems. That, in and of itself, is a fact that speaks volumes, and even if I could bring 100,000 success stories with the BIONIC into the forum, it would not change your experiences, and for that, I'm truly sorry. I really wish you could have one that just works, OOB, period. At this point, though, I'm not sure if anyone (even me) would be satisfied with a perfectly working device after 5 failures. And that is, for all intents an purposes, the bottom line.

Seriously, though, as I said - it's time to make VZW and Moto fix your problems permanently - by restoring your upgrade and your money so you can get the next big device when it hits. Do not back down, even if Moto says they want it fixed - politely but firmly (as in a rock) tell them that you want your money back, a replacement every 2 weeks is too much for you to work with. Same for your upgrade at VZW - and keep taking the all to a higher level until someone finally bends over and hands you the soap. At this point, you deserve all that and more.